The Amazing Race 31 Blog Pool OPENS!

The new season of The Amazing Race starts NEXT Wednesday, 9pm ET/PT right after Survivor. That would be April 17. Mark those calendars! It's a CBS reality show smackdown kind of season ahead -- three teams from Survivor, three from Big Brother and five previous Amazing Race teams. I posted about the BB and Survivor teams on this linked post. I will post about the returning TAR teams soon.

But first … we have to get this blog pool opened!

Hey! Who's our Lifeguard? And what does the lifeguard do?

SueGee, affectionately known as SqueeGee, will be the lifeguard. She will randomly match up blog members with teams on the show. Beware, though, she has a whistle and knows how to use it!

Then what happens?

As the show airs, you cheer on your team. You cheer 'em on and on. (Even if you don't like 'em, you cheer 'em on.) Once (or if) your team is Philiminated, feel free to cheer on whomever you wish. Just don't run amok all over the pool!

What do I win if my team wins?

You win the much sought after … bragging rights. Yep, you got it. What? You thought this was about money? Nope. Money doesn't last. Bragging rights last forever even as future seasons air.

How do I get in on this action?

You need to sign up in the comments of this post and this post only. Submissions on any other post or on Facebook or Twitter might be missed. If you are here on Blogger under "Anonymous," you will need some sort of sign-off name. A first name is fine, a nickname, anything. Obviously we can't have a half-dozen "anon" entrants in the pool -- we wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

When is the deadline for signing up?

The pool sign up ends at noon PT, otherwise known as 3pm ET, on Tuesday, April 16. Sign up now before you forget! Stragglers can hang around the pool, but won't be able to swim.

Survivor: Edge of Extinction - Ep. 9 Blog Party

Good evening! Did you hear the news? Next Wednesday following Survivor, we'll have the season premiere of The Amazing Race! Three teams each from Survivor and Big Brother will be competing, as well as five previous TAR teams. Since this blog has fans from all three shows, it seems custom-made for us! I posted about the BB and Survivor teams on this here linked post. Watch out for the blog pool opening post tomorrow!

As for tonight, it looks (from promos) like a Tribal Council not to miss! Other than that, perhaps we'll learn more about Extinction … or not. I'll be live blogging the showing covering all the major events the best I can as the show airs here on the East Coast -- refresh the page to get the latest news. The real party is in the comments section. Please feel free to join in on the fun!

Here are the latest blog pool standings from Lifeguard Laurie --

Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krysta Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

Jury & Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Joe Anglim * - Carol C, Kismet

Survivor fans ready? Let's get this show going!

Coming back from Tribal, Ron and Julie's blindside has Wardog scheming even more. Gavin is in a tight spot with his ex-ally Ron. He thinks he's in with a new alliance. We'll see how that works out. David and Rick voted differently but are trying to get back in with Ron and Julie to take control of the game.

Joe is on Extinction. He's bored. He calls it The Great Slowdown. He thinks Chris might be thinking of the white flag. Meanwhile, Chris catches a stingray. Things lookin' better! Eric is determined to stay.

Back at camp, Rick tries to reason with Julie. David, Rick, Ron and Julie try to figure an additional number. Julie is ready to jump ship from the Kama people. Oh, geez. She breaks down in confessional and to them. It seems like her resolve might be dissolving. 

Wardog, Kelley and Lauren are also a trio to keep an eye on. Julia is worried about them.

Time for the Immunity Challenge. It's a repeat from David's season (in which he did poorly). Stand on narrow beam while balancing a ball on a grooved bow. As time goes on, move to narrower section of the beam.

Wardog out first. Julie out. Next round. Ron out. Rick out. Aurora out, Victoria out. Lauren out. Kelley out. Julia out. David out.

GAVIN WINS IMMUNITY!

He's sure he'll be sending David home tonight.

David's name is getting thrown around, as is Ron's name. Will Kama Strong be strong once again? Now Kelley's name is in there, too. Lots of distrust throughout. Gavin doesn't want Kelley voted out. He feels that the others who want Kelley out instead of David have betrayed him. 

David knows he's on the chopping block. He thinks that he and Rick need to use the idol. Rick agrees with him that he (David) is in trouble. Kelley too is worried. Now, we know she has an idol of her own.

It must be some Tribal ahead as they're heading to it just over a half-hour into the show. 

Tribal time! Jeff talks about trust and blindsides. Julie says she was blindsided last week and her game was blown apart. David likens Lesu to minnows being devoured by sharks (Kama). Gavin talks about the lack of trust and set plans chaning. Julie is crying, saying she thinks it will be another blindside against her or Ron tonight. Julie, giggling, says she giggled because Kelley gave her if the plan was still good. Now Lesu thinks they're the plan again. 

Now they're arguing about which tribe is the most dysfunctional. Wardog says he's confused. Julia calls Rick a passenger, after he called himself one. Rick says the seven who seem left out should get together and control the vote. David is just smiling. He thinks it's desperation and everyone is trying to figure out what is going on.

Whoa! They're talking all around. They tell David the plan was him. Julie is ready to jump ship! It's like all the scheming pre-Tribal is happening AT Tribal.

Still lots of confusion. They say they're ready to vote. I still can't make heads or tails of it all!

The tally … Eric matches the idol halves and David is safe.

David, Kelley, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia …

Welp, I guess she's jumping ship, not Julie!

She chooses to go to Extinction and feels all kinds of betrayed by her Kama Strong.

The Amazing Race 31 starts April 17 - BB and Survivor Teams!

It's been announced that the new season of TAR will start following the airing of Survivor: Edge of Extinction on Wednesday, April 17. Now, I had absolutely no interest in that Million Dollar Mile (whatever) anyway. So, I'm glad it was booted to Saturday night in its death throes.

This upcoming TAR season was surely made for this blog and its readers! Why else would they have contestants from three CBS reality shows -- Big Brother, Survivor and The Amazing Race -- the three shows always covered here? 



From Big Brother, we have …

A sister team of Rachel Reilly and Elissa Slater, now ages 34 and 32 respectively. Rachel has an edge over many of the BB hamsters as she's been on TAR twice already with her husband Brandon. Her stats are: Big Brother 12, winner of Big Brother 13, The Amazing Race 20 and The Amazing Race All-Stars. It will be interesting to see how she does with her sister who was on BB15.

Engaged couple Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo, ages 26 and 28. Although not even a showmance in their one BB season together, they're engaged now. Her stats: Big Brother 16, winner of Big Brother 18. He was the hamster who kept winning comps to come back in Big Brother 18. I'm not sure how she'll do on TAR -- she's one of those lovable but kind of naïve sorts. I can see him excelling at any challenge thrown his way. It's a shame he can't do all the challenges himself on the show!

Here's quite the duo! Friends Janelle Pierzina and Britney Haynes! Now ages 38 and 30. Janelle was a BB fan favorite with three summers on the show -- Big Brother 6,Big Brother All-Stars and Big Brother 14. She was a tremendous competitor in BB6. Britney has two BB seasons under her belt -- Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 14. Not as big a player on the physical comps as Janelle, I think she has a very entertaining (and sarcastic) wit about her. I'll enjoy watching them race as a team together!



From Survivor, we have ...

Married couple Rupert and Laura Boneham. He's 54 now, she's 49. Rupert had a large fan base from his four appearances on Survivor --Survivor: Pearl Island, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Laura was on Blood vs. Water with him. While I think Rupert is a very admirable man in his business and personal life, I was never really a fan of his on the show(s). To me, his schtick was to roar and act like a pirate. Age-wise and competition-wise, I think they're going to be out of their league on TAR.

Friends Corinne Kaplan and Eliza Orlins, ages 39 and 35 respectively. Corinne was on Survivor: Gabon and Survivor: Caramoan. Eliza was on Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia. I didn't realize that Eliza is now a public defender in Manhattan. No, I won't go there and get into trouble just to meet her. Don't even ask! This should be a pretty solid team. As an added bonus, if they go to China, Eliza can speak Mandarin! I enjoy the both of them and they just might be contenders!

Then we have friends Chris Hammons and Bret LaBelle, both from Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X. Chris is 40, Bret is now 44. Chris is a defense attorney while Bret is a police sergeant. I enjoyed both of them personality-wise on the show. But, if memory serves, neither was all that great at the challenges. It looks like Chris, in particular, has gained some weight. I can't knock a person for that -- glass houses and all that, y'know! But … excess weight against lean and mean teams often brings an early exit from the show … or a late arrival on the welcome mat.

I'll be covering the returning TAR teams in a separate post. But, I'll leave you with a little teaser. Who could forget Colin from TAR5 and "My ox is BROKEN!"?

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 8 Blog Party

I don't know about you, but I'm still a bit confused about how Extinction is going to work from this point forward. Sure, we know Wendy and Keith raised the white flag and are gone from the game. We know Aubry, Reem and Chris are on the jury. BUT … they had to go back to Extinction where Joe joined them. Jeff has said Extinction continues. So … those who don't win the return to the game challenge get another shot? (Maybe not a great shot because they're going up against Joe.) Will people quit or end up staying in just to be on the jury? May I go to be waited on at Ponderosa since they're obviously not using it?

Lifeguard Laurie's blog pool is getting just about as confusing. We've got three people in two places and only two people out of the game going into the eighth episode. Oy! Here we go:

Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight

Dan DaSilve "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW

David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck

Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon

Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY

Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer

Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl

Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.

Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krysta Gibson, Sharon N.

Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee

Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle

Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

JURY & Extinction

Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C

Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie

Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals

EXTINCTION only

Joe Anglim * - Carol C, Kismet

Bye-bye

Keith Sowell

Wendy Diaz

Let's see how this is going to play out …

Ron is working on David and Rick. Joe is looking miserable over in Extinction. And, we're into a Reward Challenge. Race through obstacles, retrieve puzzle pieces, solve plank puzzle,  random draw for teams of six. Blue and yellow.

Victoria, Wardog, Julia, Gavin, Aurora and Rick (?) win Reward … Chinese dinner!

Over with the others, Kelley tries to bury the hatchet with David and gather some numbers. David likes what she's selling because they think the old Kama tribe is still the power led by Ron and Eric. Wardog is trying to get Rick to work with him. Now, Rick doesn't like being barked at by a Wardog. He doesn't trust Lesu. He's thinking it would be better to work with Kama. Uh-oh. Rick isn't going along with David. He even mentions that David should give him the half of the idol back. Yipes.

Aubry got the clue first on Extinction. Joe is confused and they're all looking for whatever the advantage might be. Step back … Aubry finds a key and a clue. She has an extra vote for someone in the game plus a practice.

Immunity Challenge time. No Extinction showing up this time. Balance on toes with a block wedged between head and frame. Block falls and eliminated.

Wardog out first. Eric out. Gavin out. Kelley out. Rick out. Julia out. Ron out. Julie out. After nearly a half-hour, Lauren said she's getting a bit dizzy. David out.

WHOA! Lauren passed out! Aurora is trying to convince Victoria that she needs the win because she was the only one left out of the vote. Meanwhile, Dr. Joe is tending to Lauren who's now conscious.

Victoria drops not due to Aurora's pleading. 

AURORA wins Immunity!

Not only did she win Immunity, she got the extra vote from Aubry!

Kama is talking about the "loved ones" visit. (My least favorite episode.) They're talking about getting either Kelley or Lauren out. Gavin thinks they should go after Lesu and, in particular, Kelley. Kelley and David think they're fighting a losing battle. Kelley knows that she and Lauren are targets, but she also knows they each have an idol.

Wardog tries to recruit soldiers. He thinks Kama is trying to get David or Rick vote is smart. So, now the buzz is about taking David out. Eric thinks David will be loyal. Ohh … now talk is on about getting out Ron or Eric. I guess we'll have another Tribal in which it's not sure who's going. 

Tribal Council time -- jury brought in and Joe IS on it. Hmm. 

Time for Jeff's Probsting questions. He starts off with Kama power questions. Kama 7 talk and Rick claims he was betrayed by Lesu and wants in on the Kama train. David claims he's just a passenger. Dang, Eric once again makes a goal of seeing loved ones. David doesn't like that goal and says everyone should be thinking of Day 39. Talks about making a move. Still no real clue and it's time to vote.

Eric votes Kelley. 

The tally:
No idols played.

Kelley, Lauren, Lauren, Kelley, Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric …

Bye-bye, Eric! Ron looks miserable. Heh.

Eric makes the choice to go to Extinction. No surprise there!

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 7 Blog Party

Well, well, well … we're seven episodes in (yes, last week was two episodes) and all of the castaways are still in it one way or another. From the promo shown at the end of last week's show(s), we're in not only for the merge tonight, but all of those on Extinction come trooping in as the Immunity Challenge is about to start. It's my understanding, although I might be wrong, that only one from Extinction will rejoin the castaways and continue playing the game. How they'll whittle the number down, I have no clue. Nor do I know if Extinction will end as the show is named after it. Hmm. However, I predict lots of folks out of the pool after tonight!

I did find out the status of Aubry's idol and advantage, though. Nope, no good. The clue that came with the idol read that it's no longer any good if she is voted out. I don't know if the advantage (extra vote given to her by Chris) had the same wording. But, Jeff Probst has said online and in articles this past week that neither is any good at this point because she was voted out.

As the show airs here on the East Coast I'll be live-blogging the major events and some events possibly not as major. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments area. Feel free to join in on the fun!

But first … the latest pool update from Lifeguard Laurie!

Manu Tribe
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

Kama Tribe
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle

Lesu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.

Limbo/Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee 
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc

Let's get it ON!

We're starting with … drop your buffs. The merge is on. Jeff starts talking about iconic Survivor moves and then yells "Come on in!" All of the Extinction crew arrives. One of the six will earn his/way back into game. Race through obstacles, untie bag, build bamboo pole, retrieve key, maneuver pole to long track to move ball up track, first one through wins.  Some earned advantages on Extinction. Chris had won bamboo and string. Keith gives a thirty knots disadvantage to Chris. Oh my gosh, Wendy is leading!

Whoops! Wendy dropped it, has to start again! 

RICK DEVENS IS BACK IN THE GAME!

One of my questions answered -- Jeff tells them that Extinction will begin once again. It will continue.

Whoa … Who wants to go back to Extinction Island? They ALL jump at the chance! I guess our blog pool peeps will all sort of be in it still.

The Merge Feast is on. Now, if original Kama stays tight, they have eight strong. Rick is trying to bond with people so he won't be the easy vote out because he had already been voted out. (Cue Big Brother)

On Extinction, some raise the white flag. Uh-oh. Reem, Aubry and Rick remain. I think.

Back at camp, Joe is worried about being targeted while others are indeed talking about taking the easy Rick vote.

Rick finds something in his bag. Note -- two halves of an immunity idol. He keeps one half, gives the other to someone else. He has to get through the first vote without it. If they both make it through the vote, it will become the power of one idol. He tells his closest ally and to-be recipient of the other half David about it.

Time for the first individual Immunity. Stand on narrow beam holding statue. As time goes on, go down the beam to a narrower area. Last one standing with statue wins.

Wind … Ron is out at the start! Gavin out. Wardog out. Rick out. Victoria out. Aurora out. Kelley out. Twenty minutes in and they go to the most narrow. Eric out. Julia out. David out. 

Julie, Joe and Lauren remaining. Ack! Joe out. Lauren out.

JULIE WINS IMMUNITY!

Kelley knows that the current plan is for the "easy vote." But she is concerned enough that she is considering that she might have to use her idol.

Julie is scheming to take Kelley out. She tells Rick that he's a target and he and David need to vote with them, no questions asked. Joe is worried that he might be a target. Ron thinks the Kama Six should vote him out while they can. 

So, it seems to be targeting Joe and Kelley more than Rick. How strong will the six be in the vote? And they hike off to Tribal.

Reem, Chris and Aubry are members of the jury? Jeff tells the others that they chose to return to Extinction. 

Jeff asks about original Kama, threats, idols and other Probsting questions, After Ron makes a statement about Kama being so strong, it's time to vote.

The tally:
Kelley does NOT play her idol.

Rick, Kelley, David, Rick, David, Kelley, David, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.

Jeff tells them Joe is the fourth member of the jury. Of course … Joe finds the Extinction stand and grabs the torch. He's not quitting!

He greets the other three back on Extinction. Hugs all around. Hmm … I guess this means no Ponderosa this season?

In the promo for next week, someone gets hurt. See you then!

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 5 Blog Party

Ah, the mysteries …! We're going into the fifth episode and all of the castaways are still on the show. Sure, some are in the Limbo stage called Extinction. We still have no clue what's going to happen there. It's believed one will make it back to the tribes, but how? Will we wait for the others to perish? What's up with Extinction? And, an even bigger mystery … why does Jeff Probst call Kelley Wentworth "Wentworth" all the time instead of using her first name? He did that with Cochran and a few others. But I don't recall him doing that with any other female castaway. What's up with that, Probst? 

Hopefully, tonight's two-hour show will give us some more insight into how Extinction will actually work. I doubt we'll find out why Jeff calls Kelley by her last name, though.

As tonight's show airs here on the East Coast I'll be live-blogging and constantly updating this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments. Feel free to join in on the fun!

Every time the tribes shuffle, Lifeguard Laurie has to shuffle the blog pool accordingly. She does it without complaint because she's cool like that. Here's the latest standings in the pool --

Manu Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, KelseyNY
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc

Kama Tribe
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - Cherry Pie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle

Lesu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G.
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.

Limbo/Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee 

Here we go … I hope you brought two hours worth of snacks and adult beverages!

Yes, of course Rick is going to go to the edge of extinction. He seems to be going in knowing it will be a rough ride. Is he up to the challenge? They do look kind of miserable out there.

Ohh … right into a Reward Challenge. Obstacles collecting bolos, land the bolos on the target. Sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly and bread. Second tribe wins just some PB&J sandwiches.

KAMA wins Reward! MANU takes second place. Once again, the folks on Lesu who lost as the other tribe before shuffling, loses.

Joe, claiming going into this he was going to play more lowkey, is still showing the comp beast side. And, yeah … he's a target. The women are saying he has to go. But Joe has grown on Ron -- he says he's a workhorse and helps them win comps. According to him, it's not the time for Joe to go. 

Oh my, lots of buzz about getting out the returning players. They also want Aubry out, even over Wendy, on Manu. Aubry wants to work with Victoria to get out one of the "big dog" guys. 

On Lesu where Kelley said playing with David on the tribe of four is like three women and Wardog. David keeps searching for an idol. The others notice he's gone. Lauren feels both Wardog and Kelley are on her side, plus she does have an idol. Even though she's sick, she is thinking she's safe. Kelley trusts Wardog although she likens him to Tony. "It's Survivor. It's kill or be killed."

Extinction has news, something for each of them. Map, stars align, get back in the fold, get back in the game. They decide to go together. Whoa … Keith who told us he was clueless with the map and the others deciphered it, took off on his own. The others are chasing him. Rick pushes him aside and grabs three rods and a note that says PRACTICE. A second note gives one an extra vote to give to a player. Chris got that one.

Immunity Challenge. Swim, dive to release puzzle pieces, up on small platform. Kelley is really poor at this. You'd think she's non-swimmer Keith! Lesu is WAY BEHIND once again. The other tribes are working on the puzzles and Lesu doesn't even have one puzzle piece. Finally they're heading to shore to do the puzzle. Neither other tribe has solved it yet. 

KAMA wins first immunity! HEY … LESU won second immunity! It's the first time any of them have won it! They were so far behind, but did the puzzle in a snap.

Manu will lose someone tonight.  

Supposedly, the plan is to vote out Wendy. Aubry is talking with Victoria about getting with Wendy to vote out one of the guys. Aubry thinks Eric will be a threat once they merge. They talk to Wendy. She can't decide even though she thinks she's a target. What is with that girl? She might have just undecided her way to Extinction. 

Aubry has her idol. AND Chris sent her the extra vote!!! She doesn't have a clue who did it. Of course, she thinks someone IN the game sent it and she has an unknown ally. She has until there are seven left to play it. Now, she's the undecided one.

Tribal Council time. Argh! Gavin is one of those people who says "whenever" instead of "when." That's it. Vote him off. 

Ahem. Wendy is clueless and smiling. The tribal is fairly mellow. Time to vote.

The tally:
Aubry, Wendy, Aubry, Aubry … goes out with an idol in her pocket. She's blindsided. I wonder if the idol still holds up if she comes back from Extinction? Hmm. Of course, that's where she's headed. It's a no-brainer according to her.

Right into a Reward Challenge. Leap over tables, lever, sandbags, get to target, hit targets to rotate to raise two flags. First -- coffee, pastries spread. Second -- iced coffee and cookies.

KAMA wins first (due to Joe). MANU wins second place. LESU is back to losing.

Joe thinks seeing Aubry got voted out shows him that he has no one to rely on. He's teary about it. He doesn't think anyone really wants to work with him. He is trying to go around making the rest of his tribe think they will ALL be targets after the merge because they're ALL big threats.

The talk on Lesu is to vote out Lauren because she's been sick. They don't know she has an idol. Wardog is also a target because he's bad in challenges and very bossy. David is even willing to work with Kelley to oust him. Hmm …

Five maps at Extinction. Aubry follows their lead in folding, but she's clueless. Devin thinks it's by the mast, but he's wrong. Keith actually finds it. It's knots to give to his biggest threat. Reem is upset. She saw it first but Keith touched it first. She says she follows the rules. Aubry thinks it's a dysfunctional family there. She also calls it a train wreck and says people are losing it. She said all of this in confessional to us, not to them.

Immunity Challenge time once again. Climb ladder, bag attached to rope through frame, Survivor slide puzzle.

UH-OH -- Jeff takes away an idol! The two losing tribes will go to Tribal and only one tribe will be safe tonight.

What a shocker! KAMA wins Immunity! Both tribes will go together to Tribal and one person will be voted out. They're worried about having to draw rocks with a tie. Eric is excited. He trusts Eric and Victoria and is willing to draw rocks if need be. Victoria is not really willing to do rocks. On Lesu they think the other team will go for rocks and they are worried. They want to go in four strong. Wardog is again getting under Kelley's skin about it. Wardog goes off looking for an idol. He thinks Lauren is expendable. That only brings the other three closer together. Lauren hasn't told anyone that she has an idol. Whoa! Kelley finds an idol! Lauren knows Kelley has an idol, but not vice versa.

Tribal Council time!
They're talking about staying tribe united of course. Both tribes talk about sticking together. Kelley tells them they're willing to take someone aboard. So, the other tribe speaks up. Wendy thinks she's in the middle. Ohh … Kelley is whispering to David. Talk about veterans not wanting to go to rocks before merge. Wardog whispering to David. David whispers to Wendy away from everybody else. Too much whispering going on!

The tally: Can't be rocks, too little time left. No one plays an idol.

Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren, Wendy, Lauren.

Re-vote time, can only vote for Wendy or Lauren. More whispering. 

Re-tally:
Wendy, Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.

Wendy is out and is excited happy about it. She scoots away singing "cheeseburger, shower." She is even giddier heading off to Extinction.

Next week is the merge and all of Extinction is joining them! 

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 4 Blog Party

Okay, we now (since the last episode) have three people in Extinction. I believe only one can return to the game. How will the herd be thinned? Wait until they starve? Hopefully we'll find out more about how Extinction works in tonight's episode.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live blogging and constantly updating this post. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the party is in the comments area -- feel free to join in on the fun!

Before we get started … here are the latest standings in Lifeguard Laurie's blog pool:

Manu Tribe
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krista Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc

Kama Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, Kelsey NY
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - CherryPie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

LIMBO - Extinction
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie

Survivor fans ready? Let's get the show going!

Facebook has been glitchy for all most of the day (as evidenced by posts on Twitter). I can't post my usual links to here to there. Hopefully folks will remember the show is on!

To Manu where the flint thief Wendy is blowing her own game. She thought hiding the flint was funny and the rest of the tribe sure didn't!

Rewards Challenge time? Kama is shocked that Chris was voted out of Mana. One Mana said Chris carried that tribe. Oh, snap! "Drop your buffs. It's going to three tribes."

Blue, Yellow and Green

Getting through with "previously on." Chris joins Reem and Keith. Reem is a bit surly because Chris is one of the ones who did her dirty. "You're not coming to a freakin' Holiday Inn."

Wendy is the only one not with her original tribe. She's with four members of previous Kama. She still can defend her chickens, now to a new crowd.

Joe, still on Kama, is happy the numbers are cut. He wants to be solid with Ron and Aurora. Ron tells us that he looked through Joe's bag for an idol and he wants Joe out ASAP. He had Julia in there with him on that.

Aubry is using Wendi as intel. Her new tribemates have their eyes on the chickens. They say if they don't start laying eggs, they'll eat them. Nighttime comes. She releases the chickens. She's thrilled with herself. Hmm.

To Extinction.  It's storming. They have no real shelter, just a haphazard one and Keith is thinking of raising the flag. He might be more bitter about Chris than Reem is. Chris isn't happy himself. He thinks he's failed. He actually catches a fish and the other two soften.

Sure enough, they all suspect her. Eric says that if he catches one, it's getting cooked. They confront her about it to a degree. They're nicer than I would be.

Time for the Immunity Challenge. Two tribes will be safe. Race over A frames carrying rope, pull crate, solve puzzle. Apparently no Reward.

Kama wins first! Manu wins second. It's the new Lesu (?) loses. It has Lauren, David and Kelley on it. They're sad because they were all together all along. David still wants Kelley out and thinks she has an idol. Meanwhile, Laure (who is the one who has the idol) has been sick so all of a sudden she's the target. She gets along with Kelley. Kelley thinks that Wardog is going to control the vote. Rick seems to be in the middle. "Who can get the Wardog closer to a million dollars?" He talks about himself in third person nickname. There has to be some sort of psychological glitch in that.

Tribal Council time. The five are good friends. Kelley is in tears because it's so hard to vote someone out when they're all so close. She doesn't know David has been gunning for her to go from the get go. Lauren seems to be the quietest. We're talking a sentimental council tonight. And, they know it. Oh, well. time to vote. Rick votes Lauren voted Rick. Both were sorry to do so.

The tally … Lauren doesn't play her idol.

Lauren, Rick, Lauren, Rick, Rick.

Oh, my. Rick is out. I didn't expect that! He goes out still loving them.

Then he heads to Extinction (of course).

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 3 Blog Party

So, here we are entering the third episode and we're still relatively clueless about how Edge of Extinction will work. We don't even know if Keith chose to go on with the game. Although, I can't really imagine him NOT going on. But, then again, he's a superfan of the show who chose not to learn to swim before going on that show. I guess we'll learn more tonight.

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be live blogging and constantly updating this post. Refresh the page to get the latest happenings! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- please join in on the fun!

Here are the latest blog pool standings from that luverly Lifeguard Laurie:

Manu Tribe
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krysta Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee 
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc

Kama Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, Kelsey NY
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - CherryPie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

LIMBO -- Extinction?!?!?!
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.
and maybe, probably …
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue

Okay, let's watch us some Survivor!

Keith is still over acting his indecision, but goes ahead to Extinction. Reem is thrilled to see another person. She tells him she hasn't eaten for days and they have to get food themselves. She's feeling all motherly and his appearance seems to give her new incentive to stay. Ohh … they got mspd leading them to steps that Reem never saw. Sure enough, they find them. They lead to rice! They have to repeat the strenuous climb each day to get any rice at all. 

Back on the mainland, it's time the Reward Challenge.

Assemble wheelbarrow, sandbags, disassemble wheelbarrow, use parts to slingshot sandbags. 

Comfort or chickens -- three hens, one rooster. Hmm … I don't recall Jeff saying "immunity." I'll correct that if this isn't a combination immunity/reward. Chris better watch it -- he's shining too much in challenges. MANU finally wins a challenge! And, it's just purely Reward, not Immunity. They choose chickens.

Wendy twisted her ankle. Uh-oh!

Wendy wants to set the chickens free. Oh, no … shades of the early Kimmie! Of course, they don't have to eat any other than maybe the rooster. They can have eggs from the hens if they let them live.

Over on Kama, they're talking about targeting either Joe or Aubry. Joe is nearby when Victoria and Ron were talking about targeting them. Now Aubry thinks she needs the idol. And, lo and behold, she finds it! Woot for her! It was on her Survivor bucket list!

Back to the chickens. The others are talking about killing them, not saving some for egg production. They think they need the protein … which they could also get from eggs. Wendy is digging a hole for herself with this one, though.

Immunity back up for grabs.

Pulling (swimming) a boat with four swimming, rest in boat, to towers, retrieve three keys by jumping off and grabbing them, puzzle pieces, spin wheel, raise flag.

KAMA wins Immunity once again. And, unfortunately for returnees -- David and Kelley totally sucked at the puzzle part. David thinks it's a perfect time for them to target Kelley. He better watch out or it could be him.

Wendy is sure she's going home because of her ankle. The others are talking about killing a chicken. Yipes, they can't find the flint. Wardog thinks Wendy took it to save the chicken … and he's totally right. David and Chris go to ask her about it. She denies taking the flint. David thinks that Wendy will be loyal to him and they need to pull in Chris to target Kelley. He doesn't want Wardog to know. Meanwhile, Chris is close to Wardog. A dilemma! He talks to Wardog. Hmm... Wardog tells us he's trusts Kelley more than he trusts Chris and thinks Chris should be targeted. He runs to Kelley. Now Chris is a target.

Wardog goes to Rick and now Rick is all nervous. Oops! Rick goes to David. David thinks it's going to be a rough Tribal Council. I think he's totally right.

Tribal time …
Sure enough, chicken talk. David says tonight is probably about getting rid of the social threat, not necessarily the weakest in challenges. 

Time to vote. The tally:
Kelley, Chris, Kelley, Chris, Chris, Chris …

And Chris is outta there!

No indecision from him -- "Screw those guys, I'm getting back in the boat."

Next week -- drop your buffs! And, they're going into three tribes, not two.

Survivor 38: Edge of Extinction Ep. 2 Blog Party

I think the season got off to a good start last week. It seems that the castaways all seem to be there in it to win it … or, at least they're all dedicated show fans willing to work to win.

Then there's Reem. I guess we'll see how bad she really wants it this week! 

I will be live blogging the show as it airs here on the East Coast. Please forgive me if I'm bad with some of the names -- it takes me a few weeks to get them down. Refresh this page to get the latest news! As always, the real fun is in the comments area -- feel free to join in on the conversation!

Since we still don't know how Extinction is going to work, Lifeguard Laurie and I talked over our long-standing blog pool first out gets reassigned policy. Y'see, although Reem was indeed voted out, she remains playing the game. She will last more than one episode which was our original thinking when we started out having the first one out reassigned. We have no clue whether Extinction will have more people, like almost a separate tribe, how long she'll be there or what will happen. Long story short … if you have Reem in the blog pool, you still have her.

That said, here are the standings:

Manu Tribe
Chris Underwood - Glenn Allen, Laurie
Dan DaSilva "Wardog" - Jackie, Nana in the NW
David Wright * - Dr_Celine, PDX Granny, Renee Buck
Keith Sowell - Donna in Alabama, meb, Skyriverblue
Kelley Wentworth * - Donna in NY, Jenna G
Lauren O'Connell - Brian, Krysta Gibson, Sharon N.
Rick Devens - Auntie Leigh, Merrilee
Wendy Diaz - Janice, Jennasmom, tbc

Kama Tribe
Aubry Bracco * - Cheryl in NC, Margo, Petals
Aurora McCreary - Ed in Ohio, marthalight
Eric Hafemann - Bizaro22, Pinky, Shannon
Gavin Whitson - Brenda, Kelsey NY
Joe Anglim * - Carol C., Kismet
Julia Carter - Donna in FL, Monty924, Jennifer
Julie Rosenberg - Delee, MikesGirl
Ron Clark - CherryPie, Judi Sweeney, Rochelle
Victoria Baamonde - Indiana Jane, Karen in VS, SueGee

LIMBO -- Extinction?!?!?!
Reem Daly - David, Terry is a Texan, Sharon C.

Okay! Let's see what happens tonight!

Reem doesn't know any more about Extinction than we do. She really wants back in the game, but is breaking down.

Wendy, missing her Reem ally, thinks Kelley was behind it all. She wants Kelley out. Meanwhile, Kelley sees her reaction. She doesn't want Wendy to find an idol. 

Kama, still enjoying their victory last week, seem to be all having fun and bonding. Aubry doesn't tell them that she doesn't like "Kumbaya Survivor." She would have preferred having to go to Tribal first. She's very concerned that she and Joe are likely targets. And, of course, they are. Victoria thinks Aubry is in a bit of a panic. And, in the clips they're showing, Aubry is working a bit too hard to befriend people. Oops!

A couple of the guys are suspicious that Kelley might already have an idol since she's having people search together with her. David is thinking that Wendy's loyalty might be very worthy in keeping her around. David is bonding with Rick and he even talks final two with him for a bit.

On the other tribe, Gavin is gung-ho looking for an idol. Julie notices the men keep disappearing and figures they're looking for idols. 

Whoa! Lauren, who idolizes Kelley, is the first one to actually find an idol!

Time for the Immunity Challenge! Swim to a cage, up and over, untie snake, get snake over cage, swim it back, ending up with throwing a ring toss thing to spell Immunity. Reward is a choice of spices and fork or a fishing kit. Kama sits out Julie.

KAMA wins Immunity! This is the second time out of two. They choose the fishing gear. (A wise choice, methinks.)

Wardog thinks Keith is a liability in challenges due to his poor swimming and the fact that he begged to throw the disks in this one, then hogged time failing to hit the target several times. I like Keith, but the guy is no challenge beast for sure. The target might shift from Wendy or Kelley (dependent on who's talking) to Keith.

Kelley still wants Wendy out. Meanwhile, Keith is playing his Nice Card with the others. He is a nice guy and everyone knows it. Rick and Chris talk about taking out Kelley. David is on board with the idea. Wardog is still reluctant. He wants to keep bigger targets around. Kelley is getting nervous. She tells us she would vote herself out, so she's wary. She only really trusts Lauren.

Time for Tribal Council …
Jeff asks Wendy if she's concerned because she got votes last week. She is. Kelley is a little concerned even though Wardog tells her that Reem was the vote against her. Kelley says that if she remains, she's a strong player and will always be a bigger target. Keith talks about the vote depends on relationships. Chris stresses both trust and challenge performance. People are saying it will be a blindside tonight. Keith said everyone is worried so it will be a blindside no matter what. 

The tally:
Kelley, Keith, Wendy, Keith, Keith, Keith …

They went for physically strong. Keith isn't happy. DANG IT! He keeps repeating and then he hits the fire and decision to go to Extinction. He's praying for a sign from God when they close out the show. But I cannot see him not going for the chance!

They end with teasers for next week -- Lauren injures her ankle (at least I think it was Lauren) and Reem is upset in Extinction saying she's been there for three days and wondering if she should raise the white flag for rescue. 

So we know nothing more than we knew before about Extinction. Y'know, eventually they're going to have to spill the beans!